1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of scanning technology, position sensing, and combinations of scanning and position sensing.
2. Background of the Art
Scanners used for imaging have typically been constrained by the need to have the CIS step repeatedly a finite distance. At each step, a scan is taken and stored in some memory device, usually at sequential addresses within the device. This type of system is limited by the need to constrain the CIS sensor motion to step in only 1 planar direction. If the motion of the CIS sensor is not parallel to previous motion, the possibility would then exist to store identical data at several different address locations in memory.
Complex motion analysis in imaging systems are known, such as in U.S. Patent Application No. 20070182725 (Pittel) which describes a portable electronic device, a digital camera associated with the portable electronic device, and software configured to run on the portable electronic device and to derive handwriting and control information from hand motion of a writing instrument in the vicinity of the digital camera.
A surface configurable mouse is described in Published U.S. Application 20070152966 (Krah et al.) as a configurable mouse with an extended sensing surface, which provides the mouse a customizable, programmable or adaptable way of generating inputs, the mouse including an arbitrarily shaped grippable member having a 3D shape, a position detection mechanism that detects the movement of the mouse along a surface, a multipoint touch detection mechanism that detects one or more objects that are contacting or in close proximity to a substantially large portion of the grippable member, and a controller for processing signals generated by the position detection mechanism and multipoint touch detection mechanism. The Krah et al. reference discloses [0108] Different arrangements of lights and sensors may be used. In one embodiment, a single sensor and a single light system is used. In another embodiment, a single sensor and multiple light systems firing at different times is used. This may be done to acquire stereoscopic images. In another embodiment, multiple sensors and a single light source is used. Noise rejection from ambient light may be accomplished by means of synchronous detection, i.e., varying the light and intensity of illumination source and correlating the resulting image data. Generally speaking, synchronous detection is accomplished by pulsing the light source the frequency at which images are acquired, thus rejecting any out of band noise sources and enabling the in band light to pass. The pass band is referred to as the narrow band of frequencies that are centered around the image acquisition frequency. Only frequencies that are within the pass band (in band) are detected, frequencies outside the pas band are rejected. By way of example, ambient light (either from incandescent lamps, neon lamps (60 Hz flicker) are possible noise sources. In yet another embodiment, multiple sensors and multiple light systems firing at different times is used.
Three dimensional scanning can also be provided and effected with mouse scanning as shown in Published U.S. Application 20060126927 (Vesely).
Published U.S. Patent Application 20050068299 (Ore-Yang) describes a two-dimensional coordinate signal input apparatus that includes a scrollball module and a microprocessor. In which, the scrollball module has a scrollball and at least two wheels in contact with the scrollball for revolving thereby, so that the scrollball module is capable of detecting a rolling movement of the scrollball and outputting a rolling signal in response to an impetus caused by a user. And the microprocessor has a scrollball program defining a two-dimensional coordinate system for receiving the rolling signal from the scrollball module and transforming the rolling signal into a two-dimensional control signal to control a scrolling movement of a scrollbar of an application program. The two-dimensional coordinate system has four zones so that when the scrollball moves toward a certain zone of the four zones, the scrollbar of the application program is moved toward a certain direction corresponding to the certain zone.
All references cited herein are incorporated in their entirety within this document.